Schoolhouse and I: Parting Ways

I am both proud and saddened to announce that I will no longer be the developer of Schoolhouse. Several months ago, I began working full-time at Apple as a Software Integration Engineer. In accordance with Apple's employment rules I cannot develop Schoolhouse any further as it presents a conflict of interest between Apple and myself.

I will therefore be handing Schoolhouse to Thomas Lister (@sayo), who I trust can take it to heights even greater that I thought possible.

In short term, the Lion compatibility update (3.2.2) has been submitted by Thomas and is now pending with Apple's review team. As soon as they approve it, you should all have happy Macs again. :)

Goodnight and good luck, my friend.

It was fun.

Schoolhouse in Mac OS X Lion demo

Schoolhouse icon in the Lion demo

Engadget

Pretty cool. A few people pointed this out to me. The Schoolhouse icon is on one of the the home screens in the demo. Next to last icon in the next to last column in the next to last row.

Schoolhouse in Ars Design Awards, on MacAppStorm

Graphic property of Ars Technica

Ars Technica, the wonderful tech website, saw the sadness in many a Mac developer's eyes when Apple decided to restrict the Apple Design Awards to iPhone and iPad apps only. As such, Ars Technica decided to hold a little awarding of their own.

In the form of the Ars Design Awards for Mac OS X.

The coolest part of this, for me? Schoolhouse is nominated in the "Best Student-Created Application" category. I'm very humbled and excited. It's such a good feeling to see something you've created respected enough to attain a place in the nominations. Among the other candidates are, of course, some of the best Mac apps out today, including Transmit, Pixelmator and Dropbox.

This should be a fun and welcomed replacement for our development community's efforts.

Thanks, Ars Technica!

Update: It's also come to my attention that Schoolhouse is featured on MacAppStorm today in their 20 Time-saving Mac Apps for Teachers. More awesomeness than I expected.

Update: I WON!

Getting into the groove (and staying there)

It's been a while. I've been busy with class and work lately, but things are starting to slow down. Where shall I begin? Apple was incredible. Absolutely incredible. I cannot stress how much I loved being out there. It was sad to leave, but I came back with the knowledge that I was going back next summer. So happy. And as a plus, I get to work a little big on some projects for my team during the year if I have time.Class is going alright. The year seems like it'll be good. Fall break is fast approaching already, which I can't believe. Before you know it, it'll be Christmas break again!I'm working this year at our campus newspaper, the University Daily Kansan. (The best college newspaper in the country, IMHO). I am their "Web Coordinator/Online Manager", which basically means I run the software that in turn runs the website, and the web apps that we have. Right now I'm working hard at upgrading the online classifieds application, Hawkchalk. It's going fairly smoothly. Another major project is updates to the UDK Facebook Application. There's been a huge userbase grow out of just two months of usage. I think we're at about 1,000 users so far. All of the UDK's great webapps were originally written by my predecessor, a great guy named Ryan Berg. I just hope I can live up to his reputation.The Kansan is great. It's amazing (and a little unnerving) to me how good everyone is at their jobs... The ads staff (which I am a part of) is a well oiled machine.As for the remaining part of my time, I'm cooking dinner on Wednesdays again this year at the hall, which is great. Gives me yet another creative outlet. Walking around on campus, I wonder how people ever leave here. (I know the answer...tiredness from class...) It's so beautiful here in the fall. The weather right now is just right. 60-70 degrees, partly cloudy every day.Hmm...kind of a sparatic blog post, I know. But that's how I am. This just in! and such.

iPhone, youPhone, weallPhone for iPhone

So, I have avoided saying anything about the infamous iPhone until I actually had a chance to play with one. Well, now I have. A few people I know own them...and let me touch them.

First off...it's smaller (thickness-wise) than I would have thought. It's tiny! Thinner than an iPod, I think. Gorgeous screen, that doesn't seem to have problems with the glass reflection from the sun and stuff that you would think it'd have.

The interface is fast...smooth. The animations aren't choppy or skippy. They flow smoothly and there are subtle touches everywhere. For example, when deleting something, you push the trash button on the bottom of the screen...which in turn causes the trash icon to pop up a bit, open, the thing to be deleted genie-effects into it (See Mac OS X Dock), and the trash closes, falls, hits the "ground", and bounced from side to side. IS THAT NOT INSANE?! Am I the only person who thinks that the interface guys have a bit too much time on their hands? But that's a good thing, my friends. A good thing.

The software included is awesome. It's not that "eh, it's fun for the first five minutes, then it's useless and just gets in the way" software that is in most smartphones. Everything is useful. From the incredible Google Maps app, to Safari, to the stunning iPod functionality. Everything is implemented great.

There are a few things I noticed, however, that could use some touching up. The calculator isn't that pretty. It's just round buttons, spaced quite a bit apart. I know, not a big deal, but it looks a little plain. Maybe a little design update or something. I dunno.

All-in-all, a knockdown, unbelievable piece of engineering marvel. I am seriously debating getting one now. Yeah. My plan is up in November, maybe I will. Who knows. Oh, and BTW, interns do NOT get iPhones. (no big deal, I don't need everything to be free.)

Awesomeness

So I am working hard on my intern project. As well as some other stuff. For those of you who have been emailing me about Schoolhouse, yes I am still working on it. Stop asking. When I have something worth telling you about, I will. :)

Got to go to WWDC on Tuesday. It was incredible. Sat through the Core Audio and Core Animation sessions. They were awesome. Core Animation is a treat to everyone who has ever wanted to make anything on screen move without writing oodles of code. What a fun word. Oodles. Does a pastamaker say they have Oodles of Noodles? Whoa. Major A.D.D. Anyway.

I'm learning Ruby on Rails to do my project. I like it so far, it's a good solid environment and I am having fun using it. I am also psyched about the Leopard situation. It's so awesome.

I feel like everything is so great right now. I have an office. It's awesome. I just wanted to share that. I know. Tooting my own horn now and then isn't that bad, is it? Besides, you don't have to read this blog. You could read Wil Shipley's. I'm sure he has something interesting to say.

So I sit at work all day, writing code, enjoying Apple. The members of my team so fun to be around. Especially my manager. She's amazingly cool. One of the first things she asked me when I got to meet here was "Do you like Battlestar Galactica?" Evidently the majority of our team loves it as much as I do. Yeah. Her ringtone is the Number Six theme. Awesomeness beyond words.

I hope to go up to San Francisco tomorrow or Sunday to explore with a group of interns. It will be cool. I can't wait to see it. I only got to see a small bit during WWDC. So this should be fun.

Peace out.

Live from California

So, it's been awhile. I've been in Cali for over 2 weeks now, and I have to say I am having the time of my life. Apple is the most wonderful company to work for. How do I describe it? The atmosphere, the people, the FOOD.

I'm living in an apartment in Sunnyvale, California with three other interns. It's a nice apartment. Close to things, short hop from Apple, and everyone is super-nice.

Apple is pretty cool. The entire feel when I'm at work makes me think to myself...I would love to work here. This is a place where I could see myself actually enjoying what I do for a living. Think about it. Getting paid to sit in my office, thinking of new ways to do this or that, writing code. That's what I do in my spare time, anyway.

As many know, yesterday was the WWDC Keynote in San Francisco. While I didn't get to see it in person, I got to watch a live feed at Apple's campus in the Apple cafeteria, Café Macs. It was really cool. There was a ton of engineers and employees and we all were there to see Steve Jobs do his thing. I do have to say the best part was the Steve Ballmer reference (See WWDC Keynote webcast for reference).

So, as for Leopard, yes I had seen it. Could I tell you? NO. NDA. Non-Disclosure Agreement. Yep. Sorry. Yeah, I know. It hurts. But now you've seen it and we can be friends again. But yeah, I know some people were a little "eh" about it, being mostly comprised of features that were either expected or already talked about. But I mean think about it...those features are still really awesome. Really intuitive. Really revolutionary for the Mac platform.

On the developer side of Leopard, I think everyone will be happy. Everything has been given a serious tune-up. Core Animation and Objective-C 2.0 are two things I am loving as I tinker with them in my off time.

On a personal note, this past weekend a group of us interns went to Monterey to the Aquarium. It was really fun. We got to see sea otters, penguins, jellies, and a bunch of things I can't really describe. We saw Cannery Row, which the aquarium is situated on. I got this weird vibe from the Aquarium, and couldn't figure it out, as if I'd seen or been there before. Then it hit me...ever seen Star Trek IV? You know, the one with the whales? Well, the scenes of the Aquarium there take place in Saucalito, but is filmed in the Monterey Bay Aquarium! Yeah. I realized it when I got home. It looks a little different now, as 20 years have passed, but it's still cool.

Well, that's the past 2 weeks in a nutshell. Or perhaps a seashell. Whatever.

Cali, here I come

Wow. Double wow. Wow with a shot of hot damn. I just got confirmation that I have been accepted into the Apple Internship program this summer! The past couple weeks I've been having interviews over the phone with various members of the Mac OS X Product Release team, and I have to say I am incredibly excited.

While I realize most of my summer will be taken up by the internship, I am blown away that I have such an incredible opportunity. I am not sure of the exact dates yet, but I guess it will start a week or two after the end of the semester, and then end around the same distance from the beginning of next semester. So I will get to enjoy the glorious Summer California weather.

This also brings up another fact...the WWDC is this June. In San Francisco. A short distance from Cupertino, where I will be. I am not sure yet if it's on the internship agenda, but I can't wrap my head around that fact. Rubbing elbows with Steve Jobs. Okay, maybe not that far.

This is the most amazing thing I could have imagined for my summer.

Schoolhouse on Apple Downloads

I was pleased to hear recently from one of the web developers from Apple's website. He said that he recommended Schoolhouse to the guy who manages the Featured Downloads area, and low and behold, the next day it was the Featured Download! This is an awesome thing. It shows off Schoolhouse to anyone who visits the page. Also, I couldn't help but notice that after I updated Schoolhouse to 2.1 it showed up in the Top 20 list...as number 4! Just behind iTunes, QuickTime, and WMP. Who could have guessed?

MacBook Pro...New and Improved!

I was rather surprised this morning to find that it happened in the dead of night... Apple has release their highly anticipated Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro notebooks. Yay! All I have to say is wow. I can't believe how far these babies have come since the beginning of the year. In January Apple announced that the MacBook Pro, successor to the long-lasting PowerBook line, would be the second family to gain Intel processors. Now, these have been upgraded with the latest chips from Intel, the Core 2 Duo, to be even faster.

The new beauties come equipped with 120 GB hard drives in the the 15" models, 160 GB in the 17" model, FireWire 800 across the line, and a new 200 GB HD BTO option for those of you who get scared when they hit the 50% capacity mark.

All in all, this is a great step for the line, especially so close to the holiday shopping season. Hmm...let me think about that...maybe it IS time for me to trade in my old 12" G4 Aluminum. Or maybe I'll wait until Leopard comes out in Spring so that I don't have to upgrade.

Ah, The Power of the WWDC

Well, it's that time of the year again. The WWDC. Ah, yes...that wonderful week that Mac fans from around the world rejoice in sweet merriment and share their extensive knowledge of all things Mac. But the power hour of the whole event must be the infamous Keynote speech by the man who would be CEO, Steve Jobs.

Yes, this has been quite a year for our favorite fruit-flavored company. The Keynote, as I'm sure everyone has read in the news, was eventful, if cryptic.

The rumors were confirmed. (Finally!) The Mac Pro is the new centerpiece to Apple's product line, replacing the PowerMac G5. Powering this brute of elegance and design is the Intel Xeon 'Woodcrest' processor, dual-core of course. To boot, just as in the previous line, there's two of these puppies. So the Quad power will live on. Another happy fact of this is that the Mac Pro is completely 64-bit, a worry some developers had after the seemingly disappearance of all mention of 64-bit technology after the announcement to move to Intel last year.

Along with the Mac Pro, Apple also updated their Xserve line of thin servers with specs similar to the Mac Pro desktops, but optimized for a server environment.

You know what this also means, don't you? Yes, it's official. Apple has successfully transitioned their entire product line to Intel processors. Yes, just as Scotty would slyly tell Kirk that he could do in 16 hours what would really only take him 4 (thus earning him the nickname 'The Miracle Worker'), Apple has finished the switch far before of expectations.

What a week it has been. And that's not all folks! In fact, that wasn't the announcement that developers were squirming in their seats to hear. It wasn't until the announcement of the next generation of Mac OS X that the crowd looked up from their brightly lit Mac Book Pros to stare in sheer delight as Steve Jobs and his crew of Mac maniacs demonstrated 10, count 'em 10, of the coming features in Mac OS X 'Leopard'. You say 'Just 10? That's it?' No my dear friends, that's not it. Apple has decided smartly not to show their full hand just yet, subtly slipping references to a certain competitor who seems to copy anything new that Mac OS X gains, or has had for a long time. Instead, Apple demonstrated only the 10 features, including Time Machine, Spaces, CoreAnimation (ooh!) and updates to Mail, iChat, and the VoiceOver Universal Access system.

The idea to keep the majority of the coming bliss secret is in the wake of the recent betas of Microsoft Windows Vista, which has come to look and feature updates that closely resemble Mac OS X (and as some would put it, not very well). During the Keynote, Apple's own Bertrand Serlet beautifully demonstrated a side-by-side comparison where Windows Vista, which to the shock of the crowd, was a dead wringer for Leopard in several aspects. He did however point out that Microsoft has been working on their own innovations, shown by their placing the search menu on the bottom-left of the screen, as opposed to Spotlight's top-right. Smart thinking, Bill.

Whatever the case, increasing push-backs and bugs in Vista have set back a release date into possibly early 2007, which has given Apple the chance to improve and refine Leopard even further. Apple stated that Leopard would be released in Spring 2007, and with the pattern of Vista's development cycle, it wouldn't be surprising to see them both released very close to each other.

It is this author's opinion that Apple did a superb job with their quiet pokes at Microsoft, with banners at the event reading 'Introducing Vista 2.0' and a joke that when they stated at last year's event 'Redmond, start your photocopiers' they did not mean it literally.

Although the jokes may seem a bit childish to the outside observer, it can be understood that anyone at the WWDC is a hardcore Mac enthusiast, and it is unlikely that Apple would be insulting anyone with the family around the table in their own dining room.

I know I will be happily awaiting Leopard, along with the not-so-discussed Xcode 3, to come out in Spring.